Across the board Apple’s third-quarter financial results returned the company to growth and beat Wall Street’s expectations.
For the quarter, Apple hit $85.78 billion in revenue which was a ful $1.42 billion higher than expected by the analysts. Earnings per share were $1.40 which is up from a year ago when the number was $1.26.
iPhone beat the analyst’s guess at $39.3 billion but that was down slightly year-over-year from $39.67 last year. iPad was way up, posting $7.16 billion compared to $5.79 billion last year and smashed the analyst’s estimate of $6.61 billon.
Mac did really well, too, posting $7.01 billoin compared with $6.84 billion last year. Wearables, reflecting some stagnation in the Watch, Homepod and accessory market, was down a bit posting $8.09 billion compared with $8.28 billion last year.
Services continues to be a growth area for Apple with $24.21 billion compared to $21.21 billon last year.
Tim Cook said “During the quarter, we were excited to announce incredible updates to our software platforms at our Worldwide Developers Conference, including Apple Intelligence, a breakthrough personal intelligence system that puts powerful, private generative AI models at the core of iPhone, iPad, and Mac. We very much look forward to sharing these tools with our users, and we continue to invest significantly in the innovations that will enrich our customers’ lives, while leading with the values that drive our work.”
Apple CEO Luca Maestri notes that Apple generated nearly $29 billion in operating cash flow and returned over $32 billion to shareholders during the quarter, while the company’s installed base of active devices hit all-time highs in all geographic segments.
Apple’s board of directors has declared a cash dividend of $0.25 per share of the Company’s common stock. The dividend is payable on August 15, 2024 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on August 12, 2024.
With Apple about to implement Apple Intelligence and launch this year’s iPhones that will utilize this version of artificial intelligence, Apple has set itself up for a great upgrade cycle. This is remarkable progress for Apple and congratulations to the entire Apple team on a great quarter!